Henry moses foulds



HENRY MOSES'FOULDS, OF NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND.

KNITTING- MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 621,239, dated March 14, 1899.

T0 a/ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that LHENRY Moens FoULDs, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, and a resident of the city of Nottingham, in the county of Nottingham, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Knitting-Machines, (for which an application for a patent has been made in Great Britain, No. 2,363, bearing date January 29, 1898,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in and applicable to circular latch-needle knitting-machines fitted with horizontally-sliding sinkers, the said invention being particularly applicable to fast-running machines of the automatic or semi-automatic seamless type. In these machines the sinkers slide in grooves or tricks outside the needles, are held therein by a cap or cover plate, and are actuated by cams carried by such plate, but the upward pressure on the sinkers of the loops as the needles rise causes the upper edges of the sinkers to wear rapidly and the sinkers thereby are rendered ineffective.

This invention has for its object the provision of means whereby the efiiciency of the sinkers is maintained.

In the accompanying drawings, which show the application of this invention to a fastrunning semi-automatic seamless knittingmachine known as the Branson, Figure 1 is a section on the line A A, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan of the needle-cylinder needles, sinkers, sinker-ring, thread-carrier, and connected parts; and Fig. 3 is a section of an alternative form of sinker-ring.

The needles 1, which have wire Shanks 2 and butts 3, are fitted to slide vertically in tricks or grooves on the outside of the needlecylinder 4, and they are actuated for knitting by cams 5 on the cam-ring 6, and through the post 7, to which the thread-carrier 8 is attached, drives the sinker cam-ring 9 through lugs 14:, two lugs being required in order that the relative positions of the knock-over point and sinker-cams 13 may be changed at the end of the reciprocating motions of the knittingcams as required for knitting the heel and toe of a stocking.

The sinkers 10 are fitted to slide in radial grooves in the sinker-ring 11, which is fixed Y to the upper end of the needle-cylinder 4 by Application filed August l Z, 1898- Serial No. 688,447. (No model.)

screws l2, and are moved radially in the ring 1l by cams 13, carried by the cover-ring 9, which has for the greater part of a circumference a circular groove for the heels 15 of the sinkers. The inside ends 10c of the sinkers also slide in tricks cut in the upper end of the needle cylinder and are supported thereby during the knocking-over process.

During the process of knitting in the ordinary machine and supposing the cams to revolve in the direction of the arrow 16 'the needles la rise to lift their latches above the loops on the same and to receive the thread for their next loops. The sinkers here move forward to prevent the last-formed loops rising with the needles and resist the upward pressure of the same. As the needles descend to knock over the old loops the sinkers are drawn back, as at 10b, and a downward pressure is exerted on them; but this pressure is resisted by the upper end of the needle-cylinder. After passing the knocking-over point the needles are again raised at 1b and a sec-- ond upward pressure acts upon the sinkers. These upward pressures cause the sinkers to wear rapidly at the front part of the upper edge 20, and when worn they become 'inefficient and fail to hold down the loops on the ascending needles.

In order to maintain the efficiency of the sinkers, the machineis, according to this invention, provided with a loose sinker-ring 16a, which is preferably of the section shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This ring embraces the ends l0C of the sinkers inside the needle-cylinderV and forms a continuous circular surface for the work to pass over, the pull or weight of which tends to prevent the ring rising, and this, combined with the fact that the ring is heldin position by all the sinkers not actually engaged in the formation of the loops, reacts upon the sinkers adjacent to the rising needles at 1L and lb and prevents the upward pressure of the loops on the rising needles being transmitted outside the needle-cylinder, whereby the wear of the sinkers is obviated and their efficiency maintained.

The groove in the ring 16u is of such a size and shape that the ends 10c of the sinkers are an easy iit therein, and the diameter of the ring at the inside of the groove is of such a size that the sinkers when in their most for- ICO ward position touch the inside-of the groove, whereby a slow rotating movement of the ring around its center is obtained, and its position of Contact with the siukers is continually changing.

Instead of the grooved ring shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the angle-ring shown in Fig. 3 may be used; but with this ring the upward pressure of the loops has to be resisted bythe weight used for pulling down the work, and when the cylinder is removed for running ou, replacing needles, or other purposes the ring is liable to fallout of position or be forgotten.

That I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a Circular-knitting machine, the oombination with the needles and the horizontaliy-slding Sinkel-53,01 a loose sinker-ring arends of the sinkers fit, the said groove opening outward and being of such size and depth that such ends fit closely therein, and, when moved inward, engage with the inner wall thereof, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

HENRY MOSES FOULDS.

Vitnesses:

JAMES ALFRED WHATNALL, WILLIAM HENRY POTTER. 

